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The Pros and Cons of Testing Often

One of the big questions that comes up when we talk about home pregnancy tests is when you should test and how often. While it is a personal decision, there are both pros and cons to testing early and often. Here are a few:

Pros:

1. If you test early and often you are more likely to catch a pregnancy in its very early stages. This makes determining your due date accurately much easier. It is also better if you are high risk.

2. Catching a pregnancy early on gives you more time to plan. You have more time to find a health care provider. You have more time to verify your benefits with your insurance. You even have more time to plan how you will announce the pregnancy before you start showing.

Cons:

1. You may lose your mind from all the negative test results. It’s an emotional roller coaster every time you pee on the stick and find out your hopes and dreams are crushed… for the month at least.

2. You may experience and mourn over a loss that you may otherwise have never known about. Most miscarriages happen very early on, just before you would have gotten your period, so the blood loss that happens is mistaken for the period and you never realize what happened. I think I would rather not know in that case, but it is a very personal topic. Perhaps you would want to know!

3. It is expensive to keep buying more pregnancy tests. You can save money by ordering them in bulk online or by buying them from the dollar store, but if you are opting for digital tests, you’ll pay a pretty penny.

Here’s the real question: even if you convince yourself to limit how many times you test for pregnancy, will you have the self-discipline to stick to that decision when you suspect that you are pregnant? (Even if you think you are pregnant every cycle?)

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About Kim Neyer

Kim is a freelance writer, photographer and stay at home mom to her one-year-old son, Micah. She has been married to her husband, Eric, since 2006. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, with a degree in English Writing. In her free time she likes to blog, edit photos, crochet, read, watch movies with her family, and play guitar.